LAUSD's real-life 'Last Repair Shop' now displaying Oscar won by documentary film

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The short documentary "The Last Repair Shop" won an Academy Award earlier this year and now the Oscar reflecting that triumph is on display at the Los Angeles Unified shop itself.

One of the film's directors is loaning the statuette to the shop.

"We hope that everybody who works here, when you walk in you will remember the appreciation that this city and the entire community has for you,' says co-director Ben Proudfoot.

The movie won the Oscar for "Best Documentary Short Film." It tells the story of LAUSD's specialized team of workers who maintain more than 130,000 musical instruments at no cost to students.

"The music rooms and the pianos in every school that I went to were incredibly important to me," says co-director Kris Bowers. "They were the places where I felt safest growing up, where I could process and work through a lot of things."

The shop makes a difference for young musicians. Without these talented men and women, so many would never know the magic of music.

"It's nice that it doesn't matter the money situation or the home situation. If any child at LAUSD wants to play an instrument they have the opportunity to do so," says shop team member Duane Michaels, who was featured in the film.

It shows the dedication to get these instruments in perfect working order. It's described as a holy place for music.

And now the school district is raising money to keep the last repair shop open and to expand it. The goal is $15 million. They hope all this attention will make it happen.

The district's foundation has set up a link on PayPal for anyone interested in donating to help the last repair shop.

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who was at the event, says "Education without music is like a book without print. Education without the arts is something that would not speak to the soul, to the heart of the kids. That is why in this school district, we value arts education."